ed, decidedly interfered with their plans of religious instruction, and that the amelioration which had been proposed, was absolutely necessary, that they might have any chance of producing those effects which they desired to see, as the result of their labours. We can add nothing to the simple statement of these simple men. Under Mr Sadler's Bill, evening schools would arise, children would then learn to read, and then Sunday schools would be schools of religion. But while children continue to be employed in the Factories, say twelve hours and a half a-day, exclusive of meals and recreation, it must be a painful thing to all minds, as it has often been to the mind of the good clergyman from whom we have been quoting, "to consider the manner in which we confine the children on the Sabbath-day, after the very close confinement of the week. They may think that our system on the Sabbathday is a sort of justification of the system in the week-day; for we, while they are stowed up in the mills during six days of the week, confine them in our crowded Sundayschool-rooms on the Sabbath-day." One and all of the medical witnessesBlundell, Carlisle, Brodie, Roget, Blizzard, Elliotson, Tuthill, Green, Key, Guthrie, Bell, Travers,-speak in the strongest terms of the certain and great injury to the health of children who have been working all the week twelve hours a-day and more, in heated Factories, from being shut up again in crowded schools on the Sabbath. Under the present system, the most conscientious and pious men can hardly bring themselves to believe Sunday schools should be encouraged; under another, no conscientious and pious man could for a moment doubt that they would be a precious blessing to the poor.

Is it possible that such simple and clear truths as these, which require not to be evolved, but merely held up to the light, that all men of common intelligence and humanity may see them as plain as Scripture, can be dim or doubtful, or disbe lieved? Aye-they are invisible to "A manufacturer,"-who foolishly and insolently says of Mr Sadler-among other thrice repeated calumnies"that if the worthy gentleman understands the subject at all, he must know very well that his only chance

of benefiting the working-classes, and of sustaining his popularity, is in the failure of his own Bill." This very ungentlemanly person says, "But to the point at issue-let me inquire how the health and morals of the population are to be secured," (nobody ever said so), "by lessening the duration of labour only half an hour per day," (he is speaking of Sir Cam Hobhouse's Bill,)" or even a whole hour per day, as some restrictionists would curtail them? How is health to be improved, how are evil communications and acquaintance to be counteracted by half an hour's respite from the sources of contagion, whilst the children are still exposed to them all the rest of the day? Is it not self-evident, that if either the physical or moral atmosphere be infected, nothing but strict quarantine can prevent infection? If exposure to the source of infection for a single hour be sufficient to produce disease, how can the effects of ten, eleven, or eleven and a half hours' association with the causes be counteracted by half an hour's earlier removal, or by any thing but total absence from expo

sure ?"

We have shewn him how-but there are none so blind as those who will not see-and he will continue to hug himself on the close of that most absurd paragraph, in which he affirms, that limitation of hours of labour" will avail no more than to fix limits to the rolling tide of ocean, or the boundless powers of thought!" How fine!

We have no room now-to enter at any length into the politico-economical view of the question. It would appear that some Mill-owners have declared they cannot abridge "the long and slavish hours of infant la bour," because of the Corn Laws. Suppose they were just to try. We do not see any very great difficulty they would have to encounter in getting on tolerably well with the abridgment and the Corn Laws. Were not many of them once very poor-who are now very rich men-in spite of the Corn Laws? During their progress to opulence (the wealth of some of them to the imagination of a poor man like us seems enormous) were wages always progressive too, and the operative well-off? But has it never occurred to them, that "many of them owe

every farthing they possess to these little labourers?" They may complain, then, of the Corn Laws; but not employ them as an argument against their showing gratitude to their benefactors. Grant they suffer some loss. Is the sight of smiles spread over five hundred human faces no recompense to a rich or well-to-do man for the loss of a shilling or two in the pound? To men of commonplace-common-run humanity-we think it might; and among the Mill-owners there are many men whose characters are up to that mark,- many far above it, who will not oppose-but we trust support, Mr Sadler's Bill, and afterwards with a safe conscience, if such be their way of thinking, they may try to crack the heads of the Corn Laws with their billy-rollers.

"When the demand is given, prices and values vary inversely as the supply." So it has been shortly and truly said by a sage. If under a TenHour Bill the supply be less, the value will be just so much greater; and to the capitalist there may be no loss at all. When he talks of not being able to afford abridgment of labour, he would appear to be labouring under a confusion of ideas. But, perhaps, so are we; therefore we shall leave the axiom to take care of itself within inverted comas.

But they are afraid that the loss will fall upon the poor. This is taking up new ground-a change of position. They surely can consent-if they choose to an abridgment of the wages of the poor-in spite of the Corn Laws. But do wages fall with under-production, as well as with over-production? Then we pity the poor wages.

But is not the demand that governs the employment of many of our Mills and Factories governed by foreign competition? No-it is not. The most formidable competition, as Mr Sadler clearly shews in his speech, is between rival British spinners-a competition in cruelty and oppression-of which these innocent little labourers, whose cause he champions, are the victims.

But grant that the operatives under a Ten-Hour Bill will get less wages, because they will then produce less. How much less will they produce? As a man works better when he is not tired than when he is, he

will, it is admitted on and by all hands, do as much, minus one twelfthpart, in ten hours as in twelve; and is a twelfth-part of his weekly wages a price that he would grudge to pay for some domestic happiness every evening, some rest and something better than rest every Sabbath?

But as he will suffer less under ten hours' work than under twelve or more, so he will cost himself less in keeping himself alive. Doctor's fees, one item of his expenses, will dwindle down to next to nothing. The children will have time to go home to meals. That is no small saving. And Joseph Sadler, the Rev. Mr Bull, and other witnesses, point out many savings besides-which taken together might more than counterbalance the loss of a twelfth-part of wages.

But what if, in ten hours, operatives in factories were to do as much as they now do? Then would they be "healthy, wealthy, and wise;" and they would owe it all to Mr Sadler.

But what if all these paragraphs beginning with “but” be but a series of blunders? It is not surely a blunder to assert that the wealth of a nation can never be increased by the sacrifice of the strength and lives of the people employed in one great branch of its manufactures. Pauperism is not a source of national wealth. In factories you see few operatives above forty years old. Have they gone to their graves, or the workhouse?

Many to the workhouse-more to the grave.

In the Appendix to the Report, there is a Comparative Table of the duration of life. We have the number of persons buried, and at what age buried, during fifteen years, (1815 to 1830,) in certain counties and places; namely, in Rutland, Essex, London, Chester, Norwich, and Carlisle; the several parishes of Boltonle-Moors, Bury, Preston, Wigan, Bradford, (in Yorkshire,) Stockport and Macclesfield; the Town of Leeds, and the Townships of Holbeck and Beeston, in the Parish of Leeds; shewing the number buried under five years of age, from 5 to 10, from 10 to 15, from 15 to 20, from 20 to 30, and so for each decennary period to the end of life: with decimal results annexed, for the purpose of comparison. It is a most instructive nest of Tables, and here are results.

(ditto)

6113

7459

2541

Seeing and feeling the subject in all its bearings, Mr Sadler, towards the close of his speech, broke forth into the following fine strain of eloquence:- The industrious classes are looking with intense interest to the proceedings of this night, and are demanding protection for themselves and their children. Thousands of maternal bosoms are beating with the deepest anxiety for the future fate of their long oppressed and degraded offspring. Nay, the children themselves are made aware of the importance of your present decision, and look towards this House for succour. I wish I could bring a group of these little ones to that bar,-I am sure their silent appearance would plead more forcibly in their behalf than the loudest eloquence. I shall not soon forget their affecting presence on a recent occasion, when many thousands of the people of the north were assembled in their cause

when in the intervals of those loud and general acclamations which rent the air, while their great and unrivalled champion, Richard Oastler, (whose name is now lisped by thousands of these infants, and will be transmitted to posterity with undiminished gratitude and affection ;)— when this friend of the Factory children was pleading their cause as he. alone can plead it, the repeated cheers of a number of shrill voices were heard, which sounded like echoes to our own; and on looking around, we saw several groups of little children, amidst the crowd, who raised their voices in the fervour of hope and exultation, while they heard their sufferings commiserated, and, as they believed, about to be redressed. Šir, I still hope, as I did then, that their righteous cause will prevail. But I have seen enough to mingle apprehension with my hopes. I perceive the rich and the powerful once more leaguing against them, and wielding that wealth which these children, or such as they, have created, against their cause. I have long seen the mighty efforts that are made to keep them in bondage, and have been deeply affected at their continued success; so that I can hardly refrain from exclaiming with one of old, I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and beheld the tears of such as were oppressed, and on the side of the oppressors there was power, but they had no comforter!" "

Sleep, gentle.sleep

AFTER dinner we carried on very much as usual, although the events of the previous day had their natural effect; there was little mirth, and no loud laughter. Once more we all turned in, the calm still continuing, and next morning after breakfast, friend Aaron took to the Log again.

"Let me see,- Heligoland lightnorthand by west-so many leagues. All leather and prunella to me, Tom-wind baffling-weather hazy -Lady Passengers on deck for the first time.' What! the plump little partridges formerly mentioned, Tom?" I nodded.

"Arrived in the Downs-ordered by signal from the guard-ship to proceed to Portsmouth. Arrived at Spithead-ordered to fit to receive a general officer, and six pieces of field artillery, and a Spanish Ecclesiastic, the Canon of ·

"Plenty of great guns, Tom, at any rate—a regular park of artillery. Pray, what was the calibre of the Spanish Priest?-was he a long gun, or a short gun, a brass cannon, or a carronade ?"

"He was a very pleasant, stout little man," said I.

"Oh-a bomb I suppose."

"Received General **** and his wife, and Aid-de-camp, and two poodle-dogs, one white man-servant, one black ditto, and the Canon of

and the six nine-pound fieldpieces, and sailed for the Cove of Cork.

"It was blowing hard as we stood in for the Old Head of Kinsalepilot boat breasting the foaming surge like a sea gull- Carrol Cove' in her tiny mainsail-pilot jumped

VOL. XXXIII. NO. CCVI.

King Henry IV.

I am going there on duty tonight; I daresay, if you asked the Captain to let you accompany me, he would do so.' This was too good an offer not to be taken advantage of. I plucked up courage, made my bow, asked leave, and got it; and the evening found my friend, the lieutenant, and myself, after a ride of three hours, during which I, for one, had my bottom sheathing grievously rubbed, and a considerable botheration at crossing the Ferry at Passage, safe in our Inn at Cork. I soon found out that the object of my superior officer was to gain information amongst the crimp shops, where ten men who had run from one of the West Indiamen, waiting at Cove for convoy, were stowed away, but I was not let farther into the secret; so I set out to pay my visit, and after passing a pleasant evening with my friends, Mr and Mrs Job Cringle, the Lieutenant dropped in upon us about nine o'clock. He was heartily welcomed, and under the plea of our being obliged to return to the ship early next morning,

2 G

with arrayed myself in the slops contained in the bundle; in a secondhand pair of shag trowsers.""Tom," said Aaron," that was very abominable" "Red flannel shirt, coarse blue cloth jacket, and no waistcoat.

we soon took leave, and returned to the Inn. As I was turning into the public room, the door was open. I could see it full of blowsy-faced monsters, glimmering and jabbering, through the mist of hot brandy, grog, and gin twist; with poodle Benjamins, and great-coats, and cloaks of all sorts and sizes, steaming on their pegs, with barcelonas and comforters, and damp travelling caps of seal-skin, and blue cloth, and tartan, arranged above the same. Nevertheless, such a society in my juvenile estimation, during my short escapade from the middy's berth, had its charms, and I was rolling in with a tolerable swagger, when Mr Treenail pinched my arm.

"Mr Cringle, come here, into my room.'

"From the way in which he spoke, I imagined, in my innocence, that his room was at my elbow; but no such thing-we had to ascend a long, and not overclean staircase, to the fourth floor, before we were shewn into a miserable little double-bedded So soon as we had entered, the Lieutenant shut the door.

room.

"Tom,' said he, 'I have taken a fancy to you, and therefore I applied for leave to bring you with me; but I must expose you to some danger, and, I will allow, not altogether in a very creditable way either. You must enact the spy for a short space.' I did not like the notion certainly, but I had little time for consideration.

Here,' he continued here is a bundle.' He threw it on the floor. 'You must rig in the clothes it contains, and make your way into the celebrated crimp shop in the neighbourhood, and pick up all the information you can regarding the haunts of the pressable men at Čove, especially with regard to the ten seamen, who have run from the West Indiaman we left below. You know the Admiral has forbidden pressing in Cork, so you must contrive to frighten the blue jackets down to Cove, by representing yourself as an apprentice of one of the merchant vessels, who had run from his indentures, and that you had narrowly escaped from a press-gang this very night here?

"I made no scruples, but forth

Now,' said Mr Treenail, 'stick a quid of tobacco into your cheek, and take the cockade out of your hat; or stop, leave it, and ship this stripped woollen night-cap so, and come along with me.'

"We left the house, and walked half a mile down what we call a Key, but an Irishman a Kay, and with some shew of reason surely, when we both spell it Quay."-" Bah!" quoth Bang-" trash."

Presently we arrived before a kind of low grog-shop-a bright lamp was flaring in the breeze at the door, one of the panes of the glass of it being broken.

"Before I entered, Mr Treenail took me to one side, Tom, Tom Cringle, you must go into this crimp shop, pass yourself off for an apprentice of the Guava, bound for Trinidad, and pick up all the knowledge you can regarding the whereabouts of the men, for we are, as you know, cruelly ill manned, and must replenish as we best may.' I entered the house, after having agreed to rejoin my superior officer, so soon as I considered I had obtained my object. I rapped at the inner door, in which there was a small unglazed aperture cut, about four inches square; and I now, for the first time, perceived that a strong glare of light was cast into the lobby, where I stood, by a large argand, with a brilliant reflector, that like a magazine lantern had been morticed into the bulkhead, at a height of about two feet above the door in which the spy-hole was cut. My first signal was not attended to; I rapped again, and looking round I noticed Mr Treenail flitting backwards and forwards across the doorway, in the rain, with his pale face and his sharp nose, with the sparkling drop at the end on't, glancing in the light of the lamp. I heard a step within, and a very pretty face now appeared at the wicket.

Who are you saking here, an please ye?' "No one in particular, my dear,